Smwr.exe executable file comes from a harmful program that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Smwr.exe process?
Smwr.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Smwr.exe – Very high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Smwr.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can lead to sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Smwr.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Smwr.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish efficiency. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.
Smwr.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Smwr.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Opce.exe, Vc.exe, Asd.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Smwr.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your personal computer. Smwr.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malicious operations correctly, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, performing at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and raise electricity expenses. PC components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while running, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Smwr.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Smwr.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the unreliable web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each installation. Before blaming these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Smwr.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Booting the PC into Safe Mode with Networking
Press the Start button, then choose Power, and click on Reboot while holding the Shift key on the keyboard.
Windows will reboot into recovery mode. In that mode, choose Troubleshoot→ Startup Settings→ Safe Mode with Networking. Press the corresponding button on your keyboard to choose that option.
When your system is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, just like the majority of non-critical system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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